Action: Set next years calendar goals with 3 or 4-weeks left in the current year (by the first weekend of
December.)

New Year’s Resolution is something that most everyone does. If you do what everyone does, you’ll get
what everyone’s getting. How impressed are you with what everyone’s gotten so far? Is that what you
aspire to?

Solution: imagine what you DO want by next year’s end. If that is really important to you and it is
achievable – set that as your goal. Beginning with your end goal in mind, work backwards along the
timeline to clearly identify any milestones between accomplishment and where you are today.
Keep these goals and the milestones readily available for your viewing. Unlike “normal” goal setting, I
recommend you determine for yourself how frequently to review them. To frequently and you may
stress yourself out. Not often enough and you may find yourself (again) so far behind that you feel it’s
impossible to catch up. The key is to be “rhythmic” about your goal review.

This approach requires effort. Making such effort is above-average. According to the Law of Cause and
Effect once you do this, you’ve already positioned yourself to receive above-average results. If you’ve
read this far, then it’s safe to say you aspire to getting more than what everyone else’s habits have
gotten them so far. Maybe you already do – and you’re interested in bettering your own lifestyle!

Optimal timing is mid-November through the first week of December. By making this effort of
identifying your goals and posting them where you can see them daily at this time has many benefits.
First is the confidence that comes from being proactive about something important to you. This
confidence spills into the closing weeks of your current year. With this comes inspiration to tie up loose
ends that may have slipped by unnoticed in the current year. You leverage yourself into the Driver’s Seat
and set yourself up to win by affording yourself time to create your plan of “how” you will approach
hitting these milestones well before the beginning of the year. And if you are highly ambitious – you give
yourself time to prioritize your goals so that you focus your resources on the best, not the great or good
goals.

“Who you become in the process is the most important thing. You’re character is the only thing you get
to keep.” When, not if, you miss your annual goal or even regress to a lower level, don’t despair! A year
is a great target yet it’s only a fraction of your overall life. Physical things come and go – this includes
relationships. By choosing the Driver’s Seat of your life, you get to chisel the character you want for
yourself in pursuit of your goals. While Garth Brooks may have said it better, I simply say “God has a
better plan than mine.”